Abū Bakr Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Ubayd ibn Abī al-Dunyā narrated to us. He said: Saīd ibn Sulaymān narrated to us, from Ismāīl ibn Zakariyyā, from Layth ibn Abī Sulaym, from Amr ibn Murrah, from Muāwiyah ibn Suwayd ibn Muqarrin, from al-Barā ibn Āzib. Abd Allah also narrated to us. He said: Ishāq ibn Ismāīl narrated to us. He said: Jarīr narrated to us, from Layth ibn Abī Sulaym, from Amr ibn Murrah, from Muāwiyah ibn Suwayd ibn Muqarrin, from al-Barā ibn Āzib, who said:

I was sitting with the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) when he asked, “Do you know which bond of faith is the firmest?”

We replied, “Prayer.”

He said, “Prayer is indeed good, but it is not that.”

They then mentioned the various ordinances of Islam. When he saw that they were not arriving at the correct answer, he said, “The firmest bond of faith is to love for Allah’s sake and to hate for Allah’s sake—Glorified and Exalted is He.”